


Infuriating

by Shatteeran



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Because of Reasons, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Idiots in Love, Instead of hitting on each other, Liam makes idiotic plans, Like I said: they're idiots, M/M, Minor Violence, No Fluff, Theo is so done, They hit one another, probably, they're idiots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-06-08 20:33:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15251502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shatteeran/pseuds/Shatteeran
Summary: “How long have you been together?”“WHAT?”Or the one where Liam pretends to be in a relationship with Theo while Theo obnoxiously goes along for the ride.





	Infuriating

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Oh_well_Em_writes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oh_well_Em_writes/gifts).



> EDIT: And I apparently posted without preview because I am crazy. Oo

Theo Raeken stared at the pretty brunette in front of him. From across the booth, he spotted the flutter of eyelashes and the slight movement of her throat. Everything in her attitude screamed fragility and awkwardness. She ducked her head to regain some composure, a lock of her hair fell, brushing her forehead.  
She’s pretty, he realized. The random thought unnerved him. He grabbed his empty milkshake glass and sucked on the straw for good measure. Hard. The girl coughed.

“So”, Hayden finally said, apparently finding some inner bravery in her ex-Alpha obnoxiousness. “I think you know what’s coming next.”

And that… that threw Theo’s mind a loop. Because he totally, absolutely, unrefutably knew what was coming next. Or rather, he supplied as he glanced on his left, who. And, as painfully aware and observant as the chimera was, so blissfully oblivious and gauche his companion werewolf remained.

Liam full-out grinned. A dopey. Drunk in love. Ear to ear. Fucking. Smile. Theo considered throwing himself out through the dinner’s window just to escape this misery of a situation. And why had he ever picked the seat next to the wall in the first place?

“Noooo”, Dunbar drawled. “What’s next?”

That’s it. If Hayden still intended to take him to bed after that awful display, he would puke his burger. WITH the complementary side of curly fries. Maybe he’d manage to wait until they were back to the Geyers’… Maybe, till they reached Liam’s bedroom… That would teach him not to waste Theo’s time. 

Because… Yes, the chimera was thankful that the wolf had broken him out of hell; and yes, Theo really appreciated having a home at the Geyers’ house, mostly thanks to their kid’s insistence. And YES! Liam and him could maybe sort of be considered somewhat allies. But it certainly did not mean that Theo Raeken, the Chimera of Death, could be used as anyone’s chaperone.

“Come on, Li”, Hayden singsonged. “You promised.”

Something didn’t sit right with Theo. Something hadn’t been right ever since that… date? Dinner? Courting ritual? – Theo wasn’t sure what to call it at this point of the evening – had started with Morey’s no-show. Liam had sworn multiple times that the evening would be a typical Puppy Pack outing, otherwise Theo would have never agreed to whatever it apparently turned out to be instead. That Corey could smell a rat… Theo should have followed the were-chameleon’s instinct. 

“Alright, alright!”, the werewolf conceded with a laugh. “Ask me!”

The older boy rolled his eyes. Not his best wingman move, admittedly, but the whole scene was cheesy and overplayed and overbearing and wrong. Both his social and sensory skills on high alert, Theo tried for the umpteenth time to fit into a harmonious puzzle the numerous cues he’d gathered during this slow-killing torture of a dinner. The chemosignals were off, for a start… Excitement but no lust. Of course, there was a tiny possibility that Theo could have misread Hayden’s… but he’d been living in Liam’s pocket for about a month, grown attuned to his unique mix of scents and to every one and each of their meanings. And the chimera would bet, without a second thought, with absolute certainty, that Liam was in fact not sexually attracted to the girl sitting in front of them. The baby wolf couldn’t possibly be that dense, could he? Then again, Hayden’s whole demeanor intrigued him as well: her hesitance showed unease, her micro-expressions betrayed anticipation, but not once had she actually tried to flirt with her ex-boyfriend.

“Okay, first things first!”, Hayden stated as she glanced at the boy who increasingly felt like an intruder.

Her steely eyes suddenly rooted them both on their shared bench. Theo instantly knew the very same glare had eventually punched Liam in the middle of his pretty face. Said idiot’s heart rate on his left spiked. What’s with the serious face, Dunbar?, the chimera taunted in the privacy of his mind. Really, why so serious?

“How long?”, she asked, in an impressive rendition of Derek Hale’s trademark ‘this is not a question’ tone. Did he give classes or something?

“How long what?”, Theo spat.

She sighed exaggeratedly, as if the older boy had joined the two teenagers’ weird mating game. She fixed him with an expectant look, waited a couple of seconds, and apparently decided to play along, as she proceeded to clarify: “How long have you been together?”

Oh, yeah, that made a whole lot more sen…

“WHAT?”

Needles, in the strange shape of a hand, dug in his thigh.

“Oh, Theo! I know we weren’t gonna say anything. Keep this a secret for a while…”, Liam piped up, a wistful glint in his doe eyes and a shy grin contorting his mouth. 

The whole portrait resulted in a… decent lie, the expert manipulator decided. But not good enough that he’d let the beta get away with such a terrible joke. Theo snorted and breathed in, ready to clear the confusion.

“But this is Hayden”, Liam rushed, his claws breaking Theo’s skin on the last syllable. “I just needed her to know that I’ve moved on and that I’m happy.”

Once again, Theo saluted the intelligence behind his tormenter’s choice of words. On the other actual, physical, hand, if one drop of blood tainted his jeans, he would… he would… To be honest, the chimera was at a complete loss. How had the night derailed so completely! Luckily for him though – and quite unluckily for the boy who’d singlehandedly made the decision to pose as his boyfriend –, years of practice kicked in. The Chimera of Death swiftly sneaked a hand around the boy’s shoulder and aggressively pulled him back towards his chest. Liam’s pained grunt, barely disguised as an exhale, sounded deeply satisfying.

“It’s okay, honey, you know I cannot refuse you anything.”

Yep, the night’s events had definitely taken a turn. Liam giggled against his chest. The rumbles propagated on Theo’s skin and broke out into a shiver. Really, Dunbar? Giggles? The werewolf, under the pretense of sitting back up, pressed his fist on his victim’s pec, knuckles uncomfortably pushing against his sternum.

The chimera wheezed, shamefully aware that the sensation had distorted his smirk into a dissymmetrical grin. He most probably came across as a patron having a stroke or something. Meanwhile, the younger boy studied his face with loving blue eyes. As if the little shit didn’t know exactly what he’d just done! The earnestness in these blue orbs, though, Theo nodded to himself as he unconsciously massaged his sore chest, could pass as genuine. Maybe it was… The chimera scrutinized the tremors of the irises, the dilatation of the pupils, the wavy yellow-green reflections of the dinner’s neon lights on the stormy blue canvass…

“You know”, Hayden quipped from her seat, making the older boy jump. He had totally forgotten her presence in the first place. “I’ll admit I was wondering where all this aggressiveness would fit into a romantic relationship, but I see it now.”

He took in her teasing grin and the mirth emanating from her posture. This, he could do. And even serve some pay back to the hot head, who, by the way, still half-leaned on him. “Pant-up anger”, he commented, tone carefully neutral, “is the best aphrodisiac. I’m sure you know Liam’s great in the sack.”

Two can play and methodically phrase ambiguous sentences, Dunbar. The idiot spluttered and abruptly entangled himself from Theo, putting as much distance between them as the bench allowed. The chimera watched the red blush invades his cheeks with a sick pleasure. 

“I’m not…”, the wolf stammered. “I mean, I am… I mean, I don’t want to be presumptuous, but I…”

Laughter cut his ramble short; and though Liam sat, simmering in the shame of his flailing reaction, he still would not deny his relationship with Theo. In spite of the slightly mysterious and majorly annoying lie, the dinner ended in relative – as always where Liam was concerned – calm and good camaraderie. And, quickly after Theo had made Liam pay for his meal – “But I thought this was a date, boo!” –, Hayden’s phone had rung, and she had quickly bid them good-bye… Which let the chimera plenty of space and a good opportunity to roughly shove against the door of his truck the responsible of the whole ordeal.

“The hell, Liam?”, he hissed, words sharp like arrows. “You told Hayden we were dating?”

Upon impact against the car bodywork, the werewolf’s shout morphed into an angered growl.

“I panicked, okay? She called me a week ago, told me she was coming back to BHHS to finish Senior Year and help us track Monroe? That she’d been trying to talk her sister into coming back for a while. Apparently, the Anuk-Ite convinced her there was no point in running from the supernatural and…”

“I don’t care about the whims of your girlfriend relocating, Liam”, Theo interrupted. “I want to know why you...”

“We’re not dating”, Liam threw in.

“… why you thought it would be a good idea to tell her we were an item”, the older boy plowed on as if Liam had kept his damn mouth shut.

“We’re not dating either”, the younger unhelpfully added.

“Liam!”

“Like. I. Said”, he hashed. “I panicked. I wasn’t sure what she expected, or what to expect, and I didn’t want to make it awkward. So I took care of it.”

“And you did a fantastic job of it, moron! It is not awkward at all”, Theo raged, before grabbing his car keys, striding around the front of his truck and climbing in, shutting the door far too violently for the vehicle’s good.

Outside, Liam hadn’t bulged an inch and Theo knew that if he leaned over the upholstery, he would see the teen’s lips mumble around his endless mantra. It took another three respirations for the beta to feel ready to join him inside the car. The driver silently turned the ignition and maneuvered out of the parking spot.

“You were the most logical choice”, Liam soon argued again, annoyance barely contained at the point of his tongue. “We live together, we’re both single and you’re an expert schemer. Plus, the whole point is to put her off and well, you’re… you.”

The comment stung. A lot of things could be peddled about Theo Raeken, but idiocy would never be one of them. He perfectly understood, given his past actions – hell, given his shared history with the very same Pack he betrayed and almost successfully dismantled –, that he would never be anyone’s first choice in the dating pool. Or second choice. Or last choice, if he pushed honesty to a fault. But owning this truth and repeating the words to himself every time his sister ripped his heart out in his nightmares differed from watching Liam coldly use his unworthiness to plot backwards tactics. Hence why the chimera took another approach…

“How about the fact that, I don’t know, neither of us are gay?”, he ironically suggested, while he made a sharp turn to the left, successfully swinging Liam against the truck’s door. 

His diversion failed. The beta ticked his head to the side.

“Lie.”  
“Fine!”, Theo grumbled, betrayed by his own heart rate. “I don’t know what I am. Haven’t had much change to figure it out, have I? Don’t change the topic! You planned this! You insisted I come join you guys for burgers tonight! Mason and Corey were never really coming, where they?”

“I didn’t know what else to do”, Liam whispered.

“You could have at least told me what was cooking up in that hot head of yours! Gee, warn a guy!”

“I didn’t think you’d say yes.”

“I wouldn’t have”, the older boy retorted. “The whole idea is moronic, Liam, even for you! Surprisingly well-executed, but insane all the same.”

A pleased smile crept on Liam’s lips. Theo punched his arm without a second look. The vibe in the car considerably lightened. One of them switched the radio on.

“You didn’t think this through, Little Wolf. What prevents me from setting the records straight?”, the chimera taunted.

“You won’t.”

“Won’t I now?”, he asked again, overly amicable. But when the sickeningly sweet voice used to unsettle the wolf, Theo’s trouble these days barely earned him more than a derisive snort.

“If you tell, I’ll... tell them you’re a liar.”

“Weak.”

“That you cheated on me”, Liam continued, a dangerous gleam dancing in baby blue eyes. “And you’re lying and denying to save face. Guess who they’ll believe?”

“You can’t lie to save yourself, kid”, Theo countered. “It’s taken me months just to…”

“Who says I have to lie?”, the beta opposed. “Whatever anguish I feel at the idea of being made, the Pack will take for emotional distress. And…”

Liam cleared his throat. Twice. Theo observed as his already big eyes widened impossibly, watched them get glassy, caught the trembling of his lower lip. The driver stumped on the brakes, barely stopping at the red light. His passenger barely reacted; the beta’s tongue peaked through, brushed his lower lip. Then he wailed.

“Hayden, I… I don’t know…”, he stuttered very convincingly. “It’s… It’s Theo, he’s… he’s… Why would he do this?” He shrugged then, wiping a fake tear on his cheek, his expression quickly returning to his pouty resting face. “By then, they’ll already be running out the door to skin your sorry ass.”

Awed, Theo stared ahead. A honk plucked him out of his reverie. He set off again at the green light, all the while managing to give the finger to the impatient driver behind him. 

“You’re a monster!”, he finally said.

“Learned from the best.”

“Are you seriously coercing me into… dating you?”

“We’re not dating”, Liam corrected, poised. He added after a beat: “We’re pretending. You’ll do it?”

Theo remained silent for the rest of their journey home, mulling the events of the night over. He tried to persuade himself that the perspective of manipulation and secrecy lured him in, that the beta’s threats worried him – though he had faith Liam would never that easily throw him to the not so proverbial wolves – or that he even cared what Liam’s packmates would think of him… But in his heart of heart, the best part of himself that was never his, he could not deny that he would ultimately agree to anything Liam asked of him. After all, the werewolf was his friend. His first friend in a while. His only friend. Theo parked the car and shut off the ignition.

“Fine!”

“I want to hear you say it”, Liam claimed. “Get out of the car”, he ordered as he opened his door.

As soon as they’d both set feet on the driveway, the wolf grabbed the chimera’s shoulder and placed his ear against his chest.

“Say it”, he said again. Theo sighed.

“Liam Dunbar, I will date you.”

“We’re NOT dating”, Liam emphasized, rudely pushing the other boy away for the second time this evening.

“Sure… “, Theo placidly agreed as he opened the door of the empty Geyers’ house and padded through the lobby until his hand reached the stairs light switch. He explained as he went upstairs: “I know that. You know that. But Hayden doesn’t. Your Pack doesn’t. The rest of the world doesn’t. So, for all intents and purposes…”

“What do you mean?”, rose the voice behind him in the staircase, uncertainty finally pushing it to a higher pitch.

The chimera grinned. This was going to be good. 

“Have you checked your IG, lately?”, he wondered, a-propos of nothing, stepping into Liam’s room and taking residence on his bed.

Liam wordlessly and religiously fished in his jeans for his phone. Theo gave him a minute to catch up, content to settle home after a somewhat traumatic hangout.

“Hayden posted a picture of us. She papped us at the dinner”, Liam stated blankly, focus still pulled by the photography.

“You didn’t think your ex would be above telling the whole world we’re dating, right?”

“We’re NOT dating.”

“We’re not”, Theo placatingly nodded, definitely amused now that he had come to terms with his fate. “By the way, your phone’s gonna blow up.”

“Why?”, Liam asked, the deer in headlights expression becoming an increasing fixture on his face.

“Well, your Alpha is probably worried about your dating choices”, Theo answered, shit-eating grin firmly in place as the beta’s phone started to buzz uncontrollably. 

“WE’RE NOT DATING”, the werewolf roared as he stepped out of the room to get some privacy and take the call away from supernatural hearing. 

Theo burst out laughing, his cackles accompanying Liam back downstairs. Eventually, he calmed down. Pensive, he grabbed Liam’s pillow. If he curled himself around it to breathe in his comforting scent while he let his confusion and doubts take over, no one had to know.

**Author's Note:**

> I guess I panicked.  
> (And this happened.)


End file.
